This invention relates to workstations. In one aspect, this invention relates to modular workstations for use in institutional settings while in another aspect, this invention relates to modular institutional workstations that comprise relatively few subassemblies or stock-keeping units, are easily assembled in the field, and have the look and feel of architectural millwork but with the flexibility of systems furniture.
Present day institutional workstations fall into one of two broad categories, millwork and systems furniture. As with all things, both have advantages and disadvantages.
For millwork, the advantages include the ability to custom fit workstations into odd architectural spaces; freedom for architects and designers to match the workstation with their other interior designs, materials and finishes; and creating a workstation with a substantial mass that imparts a permanent look to it. The disadvantages include quality variations as a result of quality variations in local craftmanship; lack of flexibility to respond, without new construction, to new technology, staffing or procedures; generally poor performance of materials and construction relative to infection control; site fabrication noise, dust, adhesive and solvent fumes; relatively long installation times with concurrent down-time for the space involved; difficult to move or adapt to new sites or new functions; lack of durability, particularly with respect to laminate surfaces and edging; numerous design and dimensional decisions each time a new workstation is required; and generally lighting and other accessories are not included in the construction.
These disadvantages manifest themselves early and often in settings of heavy use and rapid change. For example in health care centers, perfectly functional nursing stations are often ripped out and discarded when the nursing floor changes from one medical use to another Since the millwork counters are custom built, they do not lend themselves to easy or economical reconfiguration for use elsewhere in the same site, or even elsewhere in the same facility, and typically leave raw floors that must be patched and refinished.
Moreover, each time an opportunity develops to build another counter or station, older drawings are typically reissued and upgraded to reflect new details, colors and styles. This usually results in a broad inventory of one-of-kind workstations with each having different parts and pieces. This, in turn, results in a worksite with little visual continuity and little physical interchangeability. Consequently, building owners and managers find that they often have to change counters and workstations to upgrade them visually even though the counters and workstations are still functional.
The alternative to many of these problems is, of course, the use of systems furniture. The obvious advantages of system furniture for workstations include their ease of reconfiguration, relative to millwork; they often include prewired electrical systems and lighting; they offer a variety of components and user-oriented accessories; they are easily matched or coordinated with the worksite and other worksite furniture and equipment; and their on-site assembly, relative to millwork, is less intrusive. Furniture systems have proven a viable option in relatively stable, light traffic areas, such as office settings.
The disadvantages of furniture systems, particularly in heavy use institutional settings, include too few subassemblies and too many parts and pieces (i.e. the basic building elements of the workstations) which not only makes ordering and inventory maintenance difficult, but can also complicate on-site assembly; the presence of many joints which makes for difficult cleaning, particularly in health care facilities; finishes and materials that are generally designed for aesthetic appeal and light use; and an insubstantial mass which makes for a nonpermanent look. Moreover, systems furniture often does not address emergency power distribution which can result in the addition of electrical chases that not only compromise some aspect of the workstation utility, but also its aesthetic appeal.
Faced with essentially two choices of workstations, a building owner or manager must often choose a product that only partially meets the needs of the worksite, particularly in an institutional setting. Ideally, the owner or manager would like a workstation that incorporates most, if not all, of the advantages of both millwork and furniture systems with none of their concomitant disadvantages. Such a workstation would be comprised of relatively few subassemblies which can be easily assembled or reconfigured at the worksite. Assembly and reconfiguration would be quick, clean and dry; it would not require any special skills, training or tools; and reconfiguration would typically require few, if any, additional parts. The workstation would have the look and feel of millwork, but the flexibility of systems furniture. It would be either prewired or ready for wiring at the site, constructed of institutional-grade materials and finishes and where appropriate, and it would be designed to accommodate various electrical requirements, including emergency power cabling. The design would exhibit a concern for new technologies and ergonomics and aesthetically, it would be relatively neutral for compatibility with many styles. For health care settings, the construction and materials would address disease and infection control.